Hip decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of his right knee, left hip, and acquired psychiatric disorder conditions. The Veteran is required to undergo additional examinations to determine if his current conditions are related to his service-connected disabilities or other events.

The Veteran's appeal for avitaminosis, also claimed as weight loss, has been dismissed. The claims for service connection for various disabilities have been remanded due to the need for additional development of his service records and outpatient treatment records.

The Board has found that additional evidence submitted after the May 2019 SOC warrants remand for further review by the AOJ. The Veteran's claims for service connection are being returned to the AOJ for consideration of this new evidence.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right hip conditions, including arthritis. The decision is based on insufficient evidence regarding the onset of her hip conditions during service.

The Board has remanded the cases of right hip, right knee, and low back disabilities for further development due to the Veteran's failure to report for VA examinations. The issues are inextricably intertwined with the TDIU claim.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient cause for advancing the appeal on the docket and because of the need to obtain additional VA treatment records, schedule a VA examination, and determine the etiology of any right hip disabilities found or shown during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, left hip disability, left shoulder disability, and right shoulder disability. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during active service or were related to an in-service injury or disease.,For each condition, the Board found no nexus between the current disability and service.

The Board has dismissed all claims as the appellant died during the appeal process.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions including psychiatric disorders, hip disabilities, shoulder and knee disabilities, ankle disabilities, foot disabilities, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, radiculopathy of upper and lower extremities, and sleep apnea due to lack of current diagnoses or evidence linking these conditions to the appellant's military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various genitourinary and musculoskeletal disabilities, including prostate cancer, kidney disability, bladder disability, low back disability, right hip disability, bilateral shoulder disability, and right knee disability. The remand requires obtaining additional medical opinions to address the etiology of these conditions, particularly regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is granted service connection. The cervical, right knee, left knee, right hip, and left hip disabilities are not found to be related to service.

The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting examinations to assess the Veteran's hearing loss, migraine headaches, PTSD, and left hip disability. The effective date of service connection remains unresolved.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical nexus opinions and additional development is needed before service connection can be adjudicated.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right hip disability, which is secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee and ankle disabilities, has been remanded due to inadequate previous opinions and the need for further examination.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for low back, left knee, left hip, and right hip disabilities as secondary to a service-connected right knee disability due to insufficient medical opinions addressing aggravation.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to insufficient medical evidence and inextricably intertwined TDIU claim.

The Veteran's previously denied claims for service connection for bilateral hip disability and hypertension have been reopened.,The Board has ordered remand of the issues related to increased ratings for lumbar spine and lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities, as well as service connection for bilateral hip disability and hypertension.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased rating for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for lumbar degenerative arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The claims are being remanded to determine the current level of disability for hearing, address whether the lower back condition is related to service or proximately caused by hip conditions, and consider in-service use of NSAIDs for other conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for various joint and spine disabilities due to the need for additional in-patient treatment records from an Air Force hospital in Thailand. The AOJ must provide a formal finding of unavailability for these records.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral knee and hip disabilities, including radiculopathy, due to insufficient VA examination opinions addressing causation and aggravation.